Corset.



AL BENJAMN.

CORSET.

APPLIGATIOH FILED JUNE 1, 190s.

@ meme@ Apr. 5, 1910,

ALFRED BENJAMIN, 0F NEVARK, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNCR TG BENJAMIN @s JOHNES, 0F NEWJVARK, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEXV JERSEY.

CORSET.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Application led June l, 1908.

Patented Apr. 5, ii..

Serial No. 436,199.

To all whom it' may concern.'

Be it known that Amano BENJAMIN, of Newark, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented a certain ncrv and useful improvement in Corsets, and do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof.

The object of my invention has been to produce a corset having among others the following advantages: yhat of permitting a lace to be quickly and easily put in place on the corset; that of having a lace which has its lace-engaging studs or parts concealed, and yet Which permits the lace to be engaged with such parts Without having to be threaded or passed lengthwise through y such parts; that of permitting the lace to be so readily engaged with and disengaged from the corset as to make it practicable to fasten and unfasten the corset upon the person in that Way; that of having but a single opening therein, so either the back or the front can be made smooth; that of having means to temporarily fasten down a flap to cover the lace-engaging parts or studs; and to such ends my invention consists in the corset hereinafter specified.

ln the accompanying drawings Figure l is an elevation of a corset embodying my invention, the back of the corset being solid er unbroken; Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of the lace, With the cover flaps turned up to expose the parts, and a stud and slot fastening of the ordinary kind being shown beside the lace; Fig. 3 is a cross-section of the lace; and Fig. l is a central longitudinal sectional vieu7 of another form of hook.

lhile my invention is capable of embodr ment in many different forms, that forni illustrated in the drawings and described herein is the form Which l regard as the best form.

Corsets have heretofore been made in which the metal or other parts that are engaged by the lace are concealed, but it has been necessary t0 thread the lace through such parts, thus making it a tiresome operation to insert a new lace, and making it entirely impracticable to rely on the lace as the means for engaging and disengaging the corset from the person. l have sought to produce acorset in which, While the lace is concealed as in the previous corsets, a lace can be quickly replaced by another one, when Worn, and in Which the lace shall be so readily engaged and disengaged that the corset can be fastened upon the person and unfastened therefrom, by the sole use of the lace, so that the lace can be the only fastening for the corset, and thus the necessity for any other opening in the corset can be avoided. To accomplish these and other objects, l provide the body of the corset at the edge of the lace With an inner liap 10 and an outer flap ll, each of which preferably has a bone or stiffening in its outer edge. The two flaps are preferably sewed together at their upper and lower edges. `Within the two flaps are a series of hooks l2 that are adapted to be engaged by the laces. These hooks could be fastened to either iiap, but, as i prefer, they are fastened to a tape or other fabric 14 which is secured in the space between the flaps as by being sewed between them.

.l use hooks or other similar forms of fastcnings for the lace, because the lace can be engaged and disengaged therefrom by a simple lateral movement, and without being` threaded through. The hooks can take any form that permits of engagement' of the la ce by a lateral movement. ln Fig. l have shown a form of hook, consisting of base 15, a neck 1G, and a head 1T. The neck is rounded to conform substantially to the bend of the lace so as not to cui' it, and the head has hump or bend 18 which stands in the Way of the lace in passing into or out of the hook. The accidental escape of the lace is thus pre\fented. iis the lace itself is elastic, no elasticity need be provided in the hook itself. The hook is profe 'ably fastened by being secured to a pla te 19 on the back of the tape. The fastening consists, preferably by eyelets Q0, which may be separate, both from the base, and the plate, or, as l prefer, they may be struck up from one of such parts, preferably the plate 19.

ln order to enable the hooks to retain a flat lace, l strike up a tongue 2l from the base, and give it a forward inclination. lf desired, roller 22 may be journaled in the bight of the hook as shown in Fig. t. Also, if desired, the usual stud and keyhole slot fastening can be provided near the lace, as in Fig. 2, or on the opposite side of the corset. To make the outer flap .lie close, l provide means for drawing it down upon the lace. Such means may obviously take many different forms. ln the illustrated embodiment of my invention, I provide two eyelets Q3 in each outer flap at the waist line, and a single eyelet 24C in each lower flap, beneath the upper eyelet of the respective upper flap. I prefer to use two laces, one for the upper part, and one for the lower part of the corset. The lower lace 25 passes through one of the lower eyelets 28, and then zigzags around the various hooks, and out through the opposite eyelet rlhe upper lace QG passes through one of the upper eyelets QB, through the correslionding under yelet Qt, and, after Zigzagging around the various hooks, passes through the other under eyelet 2l from beneath, and up through and out of the corresponding upper eyelet ..Vhen the free ends of the laces are drawn tight and tied together, they not only draw the corset tight around the waist, but draw the upper flaps down tightly.

It will be seen that in my corset, the hooks engaged by the laces are all concealed, and, yet because the laces can be engaged by a lateral movement, and do not have to be threaded through the necessarily long series of. hooks, the lace can be engaged with and disengaged from them with ease. This enables a worn lace to be easily replaced by a new onean advantage not heretofore possessed by a lace of the invisible lrind. It also makes it possible to use the lace, both to adj ust the waist measure of the corset, and as the only fastening for the corset, since the lace or laces can be engaged with and disengaged from the hooks every time the corset put on or taken off. I amv thus able to provide a corset that need have no other opening than the lace, so that it can have a smooth and unbroken back or front. So far as the ready engagement and disengagement of the lace is concerned, it is, of course, immaterial whether or not the lace be provided either with the upper or the lower iap.

It is obvious many changes can be made in the illustrated constructions, and they are only to be regarded as showing two of many possible embodiments by way of illustration of the principle involved.

I claim:

l. In a corset, the combination of a body having vertical edges, stiened inner and outer flaps secured to said edges, lace engaging hooks secured between said aps,

said flaps being secured together at their.`

upper and lower edges, said outer flaps covering and concealing said hooks whereby a lace can be engaged on and disengaged from said hooks without being threaded successively therethrough.

2. In a.V corset, the combination of a body having vertical edges, stiiened inner and outer flaps secured to said edges, a strip secured between said flaps, and lace-engaging hooks secured to said strip, said flaps being secured together at their upper and lower edges, whereby a lace can be engaged on and disengaged from said hooks without being threaded successively therethrough.

3. In a corset, the combination of a body having vertical edges, inner and outer flaps secured to said edges, a strip secured between said liaps, lace-engaging hooks, secured to said strip, said flaps being secured together at their upper and lower edges, and eyelets in said inner and outer flaps at the waist line for the reception of the lace.

4. In ay corset, the combination of a body having vertical edges, inner and outer flaps on said edges, strips secured between said flaps, hooks secured to said strips, said inner and outer flaps being secured together at their upper and lower edges, eyelets in said inner and outer flaps at the waist line, and a. lace passing through one of said eyelets in the outer flaps, engaging the various hoolrs, and passing out through another eyelet on said outer flap.

5. In a corset, the combination of a body having vertical edges, inner and outer tiaps on said edges, said flaps being secured together at their upper and lower edges, strips secured between said flaps, hooks secured to said strips, eyelets in said inner and outer-Flaps at the waist line, a. lace passing through an eyelet in the outer flap, passing through an eyelet in the inner flap, engaging hooks at one side of said waist line, and then passing outward through an eyelet in the inner iiap and an eyelet in the outer iiap, and a second lace passing through an eyelet in the outer flap, engaging the hooks on the opposite side of said waist line, and passing out through a. corresponding eyelet in the opposite outer flap.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand.

ALFRED BENJAMIN.

TWitnesses Annu. B. SaNDLAss, FRANK BENJAMIN. 

